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Thomas Tierney

Guest post by Thomas J. Tierney

In sharp contrast to the divisive politics that regularly dominate the news, the national response to Hurricane Sandy’s devastation emphasizes that no matter our political persuasion or zip code, Americans find common ground in generosity. Three out of four Americans, regardless of income, routinely donate time and money to charitable causes.

While giving is not new – industrialists such as Carnegie and Rockefeller pushed philanthropy to a grand scale in the 19th century – something unprecedented is going on among a broad vanguard of the 21st century’s wealthiest donors. They are expending unprecedented resources to address major challenges within their lifetimes, rather than handing off responsibility to a private foundation created in perpetuity. Never have so many people with so much wealth been so relentlessly dedicated to improving our society. What are the implications of this trend?

To find out, the Bridgespan Group recorded and archived more than 50 conversations with remarkable givers (free to view at www.GiveSmart.org). While their interests, passions, and political affiliations are diverse, they share an intense motivation to achieve “significance beyond success” through service to others. That impetus gives rise to several new patterns of giving.

First, billionaires, worth an aggregate of nearly $130 billion, indicate they are working as hard as they possibly can to die with their bank accounts relatively empty—collectively donating as much as $95 billion.

Take Bernie Marcus, founder of The Home Depot. Early in his career, he saw the anguish of an employee, a young mother of an autistic child. Marcus began to gather the best minds in medicine to battle the disease. He has since given more than $25 million, and his time, to help found Autism Speaks, now a worldwide research and awareness program. Marcus says his reward is the knowledge of helping others, asking, “How am I going to get that from the coffin? Why wouldn’t I want to do it while I’m alive?”

Second, philanthropy is no longer seen as a retirement activity. Donors are engaging sooner and living longer, allowing them decades to learn and improve. Bill and Melinda Gates – both in their 50s – have chosen to engage in philanthropy full-time. Hedge fund manager Tom Steyer, 55, will follow suit at the end of the year. And a twenty-something newly minted billionaire privately laments being “behind in his philanthropy.” This is entirely new—and will impact philanthropy’s capacity for generations.

Third, many of today’s wealthiest givers also see themselves as investors—not check writers, but funders of solutions. They voluntarily invest countless hours, contributing their expertise, influence, and reputations. This plays out in bigger bets, bolder risks, and deep multi-year commitments.

Construction innovator Eli Broad personifies this boldness, telling us, “I think the role of philanthropy is to do things that government can’t do or is unwilling to do.” He reasons that, unlike politicians, donors can’t lose their jobs—so they can take greater risks than government can. Broad added, “If you really want to make a difference you’ve got to make bigger bets,” and he did, expending $600 million to create the Broad Institute, now a world leader in genomics research.

Finally, many self-made philanthropists seek to translate the lessons that built their business successes into the social sector. While this doesn’t always work perfectly, it has given rise to stunning innovations and hybrids. The Omidyar Network, founded by Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, calls itself a “philanthropic investment firm,” supporting for-profit socially oriented businesses and nonprofit organizations. And through the Case Foundation, Jean and Steve Case have transferred their passion for technology to basic foundation processes such as grant making, for example, using “crowdsourcing” to choose grantees—creating a form of “citizen philanthropy.”

Many of the patterns we observed are mirrored by innovations in volunteerism and philanthropy at a grassroots level, as well from the increasing success of tools such as DonorsChoose or Kickstarter, to the inaugural celebration of #GivingTuesday, a campaign to create a national day of giving on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

While politics contrives to divide us, our fundamental generosity—our willingness to lend a hand—offers extraordinary opportunities for all of us to help improve our society. Taken together, we have the potential to shape America’s golden age of philanthropy. We must leave divisiveness behind, respond to our country’s true needs, and strive to collaborate—to give generously and give smart.